Former NAU offensive coordinator Aaron Pflugrad to be named quarterback coach at James Madison

Former NAU offensive coordinator Aaron Pflugrad has continued to land quality coaching jobs since his long tenure in Flagstaff. The Lumberjack coach of nine seasons has been named as the next quarterback coach at James Madison University, according to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports.

Pflugrad has spent the last two seasons on Michigan State’s staff. He began as an offensive analyst in 2024 before being elevated to pass game coordinator in 2025 under the outgoing head coach Jonathan Smith.

Pflugrad is set to join a James Madison program fresh off its first College Football Playoff appearance this season. The Dukes lost in the first round to No. 5-ranked Oregon last Saturday, 51-34, at Autzen Stadium.

James Madison hired Billy Napier as its next head coach starting in 2026 after Bob Chesney accepted the head coaching job at UCLA earlier this month. Chesney will be taking his offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy and defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler with him to coach the Bruins.

Napier has begun the process of putting together his staff for next season. On top of taking in Pflugrad from East Lansing, Napier is also reportedly hiring William Peagler as James Madison’s running backs coach. Peagler was on Michigan State’s staff in 2020 and 2021. He recently worked under Napier at Florida and also coached for the Arizona Cardinals.

More from this section

Economic impact expected from the 49th Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl

In Gator Bowl loss, Mizzou's young offense flashes promise amid pitfalls

Gator Bowl preview: Will Mizzou miss too much talent against Virginia?

Before Michigan State, Pflugrad joined NAU’s staff in 2015 and spent three years as the Lumberjacks’ wide receivers coach under head coach Jerome Souers. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2018 during Chris Ball’s head coaching tenure at NAU until the end of the 2023 season.

Pflugrad coached quarterback Case Cookus and helped him break all-time program records in passing yards (12,802) and touchdowns (105). Cookus finished second in Walter Payton Award voting in 2019 under Pflugrad, given to the best offensive player in FCS. NAU averaged 37.2 points per game and 484.1 total yards per contest. The Lumberjacks’ 361 passing yards per game led the FCS that year.

After Cookus, Pflugrad led an offense with RJ Martinez at quarterback. He coached Martinez to be the Big Sky Conference’s Freshman of the Year in 2021. Martinez made his debut in NAU’s historic win over the Arizona Wildcats in Tucson that year.

Pflugrad played two seasons at Oregon before completing his college playing career at Arizona State, where he served as a graduate assistant working with the wide receivers before joining NAU.